Organ

The organ, from the ancient Greek ὄργανον órganon tool, instrument, organ, is a playable keyboard instrument . It belongs to the family of aerophones . To distinguish it from electronic organs it is also known as a pipe organ.

It is considered the “queen of keyboard instruments”: the organ. Its origins lie in the Orient. It was developed further in the Baroque and Romantic periods in particular. The Greek Ktesibios, who built an instrument in which the sound was produced by the pressure of the wind on metal pipes, is considered the inventor of the organ.

The organ consists of three main parts: the pipework, the wind mechanism (blowers, bellows, ducts, windchest, windchests) and the action, i.e. the mechanism that directs the wind to the individual pipes (console, action, stop action). The organist operates the organ from the console. The sound is produced by one or more manuals and possibly the pedal, to which the stops are usually permanently assigned. The movement of the keys is transmitted mechanically, pneumatically, electrically or by light waves (fiber optics) via the action to the valves under the pipes. The organist calls up individual ranks of pipes of different pitch and timbre (stops) using the stop action or stop keys, thus producing different sound mixtures.

History

The forerunners of the modern organ were created as early as the 3rd century BC. The Greek technician Ctesibius, an engineer in Alexandria, is considered to be the pioneering inventor who, in addition to a water clock and a fire engine, also developed the “organon hydraulikon” – an instrument in which metal pipes were used to generate uniform wind pressure. The name “water pipe” is derived from the wind pressure generated by water, and these early organs were initially used for domestic music.

The use of the organ extended from Greece to the Roman Empire, where it was used as a secular instrument in the theater and circus. Organ building continued to develop, with wind pressure being generated not only by water but also by manually operated bellows. The early Christians were initially distanced from the organ, as it was also used in entertainment games in the arena, which led to tensions during the Roman persecution of Christians.

In the Middle Ages, Gregorian chant dominated the liturgy and the organ did not yet play an accompanying role, but alternated with the sung chorales. It was only after the Reformation that independent organ music developed in the Catholic Church. While organ music was forbidden in the churches of the Reformation, such as those of Calvin and Zwingli, it flourished in the Baroque period under composers such as Bach and Buxtehude. Organ building reached a high level and the organ landscape in Central and Southern Europe flourished.

The organ was somewhat sidelined during the Classical period, but it regained popularity during the Romantic period, mainly due to the influence of organ builder Aristide Cavaillé-Coll in France. In the In the 19th and 20th centuries, the organ was also used outside of churches, especially in concert halls and cinemas. In cinemas, the organ accompanied silent films until it lost its function with the introduction of sound film. Today, it is impossible to imagine a church service without the organ, whereby the digital organ has found its way in alongside the classic pipe organ, although this should only be accepted in exceptional cases in order to do justice to the dignity of the liturgy and the church interior.

Structure

First and foremost, every organ consists of a large number of different pipes. They produce a certain sound depending on their size and material. Pipes of the same type are grouped together to form so-called stops. These stops are often named after the type of sound they produce: For example, there is the trumpet stop or the recorder stop. When played, the pipes in these stops sound like a trumpet or like a recorder.

The organ is operated from a console. There are usually several rows of keys, similar to a piano. At the push of a button, a valve opens via a mechanical control. Air flows through this valve into a pipe. The organist can determine which pipes he wants to make sound with the help of the stops, which are usually located to the left and right of the keyboard. If only one stop is selected, for example, a single pipe can be played by pressing a key. On the other hand, several notes can be played if several stops are selected. In this way, even very large church rooms can be sounded relatively well with large organs.

Large organs sometimes also have very unusual stops, such as a glockenspiel or a marimba. And some organs also have “joke stops”: in Cologne Cathedral, for example, the cathedral provost suddenly comes out of the organ case waving a jester’s cap when you press the “Loss jon” stop.

A special feature that is very noticeable on some organs is the “swell box”. The organist can regulate the volume of his playing with the help of some shutters, which can be opened and closed with a pedal.

Sound or sound generation

The principle of the pipe organ is still the same today as it was when it was invented over 2000 years ago: Air flowing in a controlled manner into various pipes produces a sound. Although today the wind pressure is controlled by an electronic blower, in the past it was often the case that members of the congregation had to operate the bellows of the organ.

Playing technique

The art of manual playing is decisively influenced by the pressure point of the keys. In mechanical organs, this is at the beginning of the key travel, similar to the harpsichord. Here, the air pressure on the valve must first be overcome. The tuning of the pipes can be varied by setting the pressure point differently. In contrast to the piano, where the string is only struck at the end of the key travel, the organ prefers to be played with the fingers, as long as the force required is sufficient. The hand remains on the keys without lifting for a touch.

In contrast, with a pneumatic or electronic action, the pressure point cannot be felt as the counter-pressure is not generated by the valve but by the springs themselves. The force required is low, which makes it easier to play music with full fingering. However, the opening of the valve cannot be influenced. In addition, the slow response of pneumatic action makes articulation difficult and requires the player to adapt. Phrasing and articulation are generally more intense on the organ than on string instruments. string instruments as the sound does not decay.

Pedal playing makes it possible to play with the toes as well as the heels of both feet. This makes it possible to play in up to four voices, even if this is rarely practiced. Moving a foot forwards and backwards and sliding from key to key are important techniques. Like the fingering, the footing can be fixed by special note signs, although this was not practiced uniformly by all organists.

Up until the 19th century, many organists preferred to play with the toe, not least because of the construction of the pedal keys, which only allowed the heel to be used sensibly for certain key combinations. The Germani technique, named after Fernando Germani, places the toe and heel on an equal footing, thus enabling a strict legato in pedal playing for the first time.

In the context of early music today, more emphasis is placed on historical finger and foot techniques as well as sensitive articulation. The precise execution of ornaments also plays an important role.

Acquisition and maintenance

The purchase of an organ is a major project, comparable to the construction of a house, albeit on a different scale. The planning phase lasts several years, during which the investor (e.g. church congregation or concert hall operator), organist(s), organ builder(s), experts and authorities (monument protection, church office) determine the disposition and appearance of the organ. The construction of a medium-sized organ takes around one to one and a half years, followed by two months of assembly in the workshop and a further few weeks for tuning the sound on site. The cost of a single organ stop is between 5,000 and 20,000 euros.

Regular maintenance of the organ includes annual tuning, whereby a complete tuning is carried out every two years. The organist tunes the reed stops himself if necessary. A tuning takes one day and costs up to a thousand euros. The organ has to be cleaned every 15 to 25 years to remove dust and dirt deposits. This time-consuming process takes around two months and costs 20,000 to 30,000 euros, provided no further repairs are necessary. Since the 1990s, the second-hand market has become increasingly important, especially for smaller churches that have been closed or rededicated. For organ builders, the purchase of historic individual stops for restoration is interesting, as the imperfections of earlier manufacturing processes are costly to reconstruct.

Instrument of the year 2021

The organ was voted Instrument of the Year 2021 by the regional music councils. This special award recognizes the importance and versatility of the organ and its outstanding role in music.

List of famous organists

Albert Jenny (1912-1992)
Albert Schönberger (* 1949)
Alfred Baum (1904-1993)
Andreas Willscher (* 1955)
Anton Heiller (1923-1979)
Augustinus Franz Kropfreiter (1936-2003)
Bengt Hambraeus (1928-2000)
Bertold Hummel (1925-2002)
Carl Verbraeken (* 1950)
Christian Minkowitsch (1962-2018)
Daniel Roth (* 1942)
Dominik Susteck (* 1977)
Ernst Pepping (1901-1981)
Flor Peeters (1903-1986)
Francis Poulenc (1899-1963) (Concerto for organ, strings and timpani in G minor)
Franz Hummel (1939-2022)
Frederik Magle (* 1977)
George C. Baker (* 1951)
Giselher Klebe (1925-2009)
Günter Raphael (1903-1960)
György Ligeti (1923-2006) (Volumina, 2 Etudes)
Hans Uwe Hielscher (* 1945)
Hans-Ola Ericsson (* 1958)
Hartmut Schmidt (* 1946)
Helmut Bornefeld (1906-1990)
Herbert Baumann (1925-2020)
Hermann Schroeder (1904-1984)
Hugo Distler (1908-1942)
Jehan Alain (1911-1940)
Jean Guillou (1930-2019)
Jean Langlais (1907-1991)
Jean-Pierre Leguay (* 1939)
Johann Nepomuk David (1895-1977)
Johannes Driessler (1921-1998)
John Serry senior (1915-2003)
Joseph Ahrens (1904-1997)
Kalevi Aho (* 1949)
Kalevi Kiviniemi (1958-2024)
Karl-Erik Welin (1934-1992)
Ludger Stühlmeyer (* 1961)
Manfred Kluge (1928-1971)
Maurice Duruflé (1902-1986)
Mauricio Kagel (1931-2008) (Improvisation ajoutée)
Max Baumann (1917-1999)
Michael Radulescu (1943-2023)
Miguel Bernal Jiménez (1910-1956)
Naji Hakim (* 1955)
Olivier Messiaen (1908-1992)
Paul Hindemith (1895-1963)
Peter Hurford (1930-2019)
Peter Planyavsky (* 1947)
Peter Racine Fricker (1920-1990)
Pierre Cochereau (1924-1984)
Robert Maximilian Helmschrott (* 1938)
Robert T. Anderson (1934-2009)
Rupert Gottfried Frieberger (1951-2016)
Ruth Zechlin (1926-2007)
Siegfried Reda (1916-1968)
Shigeru Kan-no (* 1959)
Theophil Laitenberger (1903-1996)
Theo Brandmüller (1948-2012)
Theo Wegmann (* 1951)
Thierry Escaich (* 1965)
Thomas Daniel Schlee (* 1957)
Thomas Meyer-Fiebig (* 1949)
Tilo Medek (1940-2006)
Walther R. Schuster (1930-1992)
William Mathias (1934-1992)
Willem Hendrik Zwart (1925-1997)
Wolfgang Stockmeier (1931-2015)

Organ manufacturer

Ahrend
C.B. Fisk
Casavant Frères
Glatter-Götz
Johannes Klais
St. John
Mander Organs
Marcussen & Søn
Martin Pasi
Rieger
Viscount

What does an organ cost?

The price of an organ varies greatly and depends on many parameters such as the materials used, the disposition, the technical system (action) and the design. On average, however, you can expect to pay around 15,000 euros per stop. An organ for a medium-sized village church costs around 120,000 to 180,000 euros and requires around 4,000 hours of work. A cathedral organ easily costs one to two million euros, because despite all the technology, an organ still has to be painstakingly handcrafted.

These prices reflect the elaborate construction and the high level of craftsmanship that goes into each organ. It is not only the sound quality and longevity that are decisive, but also the individual adaptation to the room in which the organ is to sound. A high-quality organ is therefore a significant investment in the musical and cultural furnishings of a building.